“I’m not giving up.” Solo sighed deeply and straightened up. “I’m just tired. And…” She swallowed. Could she say the word out loud? Admit her vulnerability and fear? “I’m scared. I don’t know if showing up will be enough.”
“It’s a start though.” Gabe squeezed her shoulder again. “And right now, a start is all you need.”
Solo wanted to believe that. She really did. But as she looked around at her people, at Woody and Tate laughing together, Shay and Rosie wrapped up in each other, and RB patiently talking with Van, Solo couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone else was moving forward while she was stuck, treading water and trying not to drown.
But at least I’m still treading.I’m still here, still trying, still showing up.
Maybe Gabe was right. Maybe that was enough.
She just had to hope it wasn’t too little too late.
CHAPTER 14
Their family lawyer’soffice was on the thirty-second floor of a glass tower in the Loop, and its floor-to-ceiling windows offered a sweeping view of Lake Michigan. Janie had been there dozens of times for case meetings, but today, the familiar space closed in on her, like something foreign. Threatening, even. She sat across from David’s massive oak desk, with Hannah beside her in one of the leather chairs. They weren’t touching, and the chairs weren’t particularly close, but Hannah’s mere presence promised unity, and Janie was glad not to be doing this alone.
“Okay, let’s see what we’re dealing with.” David flipped open a legal pad and uncapped his fountain pen. “Your mother has filed a petition for custody based on allegations of parental unfitness and abandonment. Is that correct?”
Janie swallowed against her tightening throat, forcing herself to detach emotionally and just be a lawyer. “She came to my office on Sunday. She didn’t say that’s what she was doing specifically, but she made it clear she thinks Hannah and I are... That we’re not capable of properly caring for the girls.”
“What were her exact words?” David hovered his pen over the paper, ready to document everything.
“I can’t rememberexactly.” Janie closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember through the haze of panic and shame. If only Lori had been there with her special memory skill. Janie should’ve known she’d need all these details and recorded the conversation on her phone. “She said I’d abdicated my responsibilities as a parent, that I’d abandoned my babies and left them with someone who was barely an adult.” She glanced at Hannah, whose jaw twitched repeatedly like she wasstruggling to keep her reaction inside. “She intimated Hannah has a drinking problem that affects her ability to look after the triplets and that she was an unfit parent.”
David looked at Hannah. “Isthere a drinking problem?”
Hannah tugged her ear. “There used to be. When I was in the Army,” she said. “But since the girls have been born, I mostly stick to beer and wine. And I cleared the house of hard liquor so I didn’t slip back into old patterns.” She shrugged and glanced at Janie. “I’m trying to be better.”
Janie gave her a small smile. “That’s all true, David. My mother doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Okay, that’s good,” he said. “And what else was said between you and your mother?”
“I accused her of doing this to get to my grandmother’s trust.”
David raised his eyebrows and paused his scribbling. “Ah, there it is. I recall she already tried to contest that though, yes?”
Janie nodded. “And she lost. Most of the money was for the girls, to be managed by me until they’re eighteen. But if my mother could somehow get custody?—”
“She’d control the assets on their behalf as their legal guardian,” David said. “Smart. Vindictive, but smart.” He made a note and circled it several times. “Okay, let’s talk about her case. What can she actually prove?”
“I left them,” Janie said quietly, not really wanting to admit that out loud. “I moved out a week ago, and?—”
“Ten days.” Hannah tapped the arm of her chair.
Janie chewed at the inside of her lip and couldn’t hold Hannah’s gaze. “I moved out on September tenth. That’s abandonment, isn’t it?”
“Not necessarily.” David tilted his head slightly. “Separation isn’t the same as abandonment, especially if you’ve maintained contact with the children and continued to provide financial support. Have you?”
Janie could practically feel the heat of Hannah’s stare. “It’s been really busy with work and having to find an apartment,so no, I haven’t seen the girls since I left. But I’m still covering the mortgage, and the utilities, and everything else.” When she finally looked at Hannah, she was focused on the carpet, her jaw still working furiously. She’d always been okay with Janie paying for most things, but maybe she didn’t like other people knowing their financial business.
“That helps,” he said, making another note. “But what about communication with your wife?” He motioned toward Hannah. “Are you two in contact about the children’s welfare?”
“We text,” Hannah said, though her sigh made it clear that wasn’t enough. “I send Janie photos and updates. We met for dinner on Saturday…and lunch yesterday after her mother’s visit.”
The pause after Hannah’s mention of their disastrous not-date almost undid Janie. She’d bailed too soon that night, been unwilling to bear witness to Hannah’s anger and accusations. She’d been a coward.
“Even better. That shows co-parenting, not abandonment. But you should make the time to visit your children, or it won’t look good.” David tapped his pen against the pad. “Now, what about the fitness allegations? Is there anything your mother could point to that might support her claim?”
Janie’s heart stuttered. This was the moment. This was when she should tell David about the ER visit, about Chloe and the bathroom cabinet, and about the crushing guilt that had driven her from her home.
